Analyze the development of the English political system between 1603 and 1702.
In the seventeenth century, a form of government known as Constitutionalism rose in England and in the Netherlands. Constitutionalism is the limitation of government by law and implies a balance between the authority and power of the government and insures the rights and liberties of the subjects. Finally, a nation’s constitution may be written or unwritten and constitutional governments may either be republican or monarchial. In a constitutional republic, power resides in the electorate and the electorate’s representatives. In a constitutional monarchy, a king or queen serves as the head of state but ultimate power rests with the electorate. Constitutional reform of government began as early as 1215 when King John of England signed the Magna Carta, which established the rights of the people and limited the power of the king.
In the seventeenth century, Absolutism was a strong force in Europe, and in 1603 the absolutist Stuarts came to power in England with the coronation of James I. By 1603 England had grown tired of Queen Elizabeth and they were ready for her successor, James I, who would also be James VI of Scotland. James was young and appeared dynamic. Plus he already had experience as the king of Scotland. The English people waited with a sense of expectation. However it soon became apparent that James was a firm believer of the divine right of kings, that a monarch has a God-given right to his authority and is responsible only to God. He expressed his opinions on the divine right in his book The True Law of Free Monarchies, which he presented to Parliament. Initially Parliament tolerated the new king and granted his financial wishes. It soon became obvious that James squandering the money on his friends. Gradually Parliament became more and more reluctant to give the king money.
James, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, also appeared to be sympathetic towards Catholics, another factor that worked against him in England. In 1625, James died and was succeeded by his son Charles I.
In addition to supporting the divine right of kings, Charles gave the impression of being even more sympathetic toward Roman Catholics and the people feared that the country would be changed back to Catholic. He appointed Archbishop Laud to be Archbishop of Canterbury and then supported his anti-Puritan policies. Against the wishes of Parliament, Charles married Henrietta Maria, who was the sister of the Catholic king of France, Louis III. In 1628, as a result of Charles trying to get forced loans from the nobles, Parliament passed their first real document defining the power of the monarchy, known as the Petition of Rights. The document stated that the monarch could not collect taxes, imprison people without cause, declare martial law, or house soldiers in citizens' houses, and became the first step towards constitutionalism. Only one year later in 1629, Charles dissolved Parliament and began is short and unsuccessful reign without parliament. In 1640 war with Scotland broke out and Charles, needing money to form an army, recalled Parliament. However, because of the impasse between the king and the government, Charles dissolved Parliament one month after it opened. This was known as the "Short Parliament". The war with the Scots went badly and Charles was forced to reconvene Parliament. This time it would sit for eleven years and be known as the "Long Parliament". In 1641, under the leadership of John Pym Parliament passed the Triennial Act, which required the King to call Parliament to order every three years.
In 1642, the struggle for power errupted into the English Civil Wars began. Th question was whether sovereignty was to reside in the King or in Parliament. The supporters of the Crown, known as the Cavaliers, fought against the Roundheads, or the supporters of Parliament. Cromwell, who fought to establish a Puritan Absolute government, led the Roundheads who defeated the King’s army. The political theorist Thomas Hobbes, in his novel Leviathan, advocated that sovereignty is ultimately derived from the people, who transfer it to the monarchy by implicit contact. Gradually the Royalists lost ground and in 1649 Charles was beheaded for treason. This not only ended the English Civil War but also the divine-right rule of the monarchy. After Charles’ execution, a puritan commonwealth, or republican government was established by Oliver Cromwell. Power rested with surviving members of Parliament and the head of the army, who was Cromwell at the time. At the death of Cromwell in 1658, the country was ready for the monarchy to return and so in 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne and both houses of Parliament were restored.
Even though the war was over the fundamental questions that caused the war still had not been addressed: what was the power of the monarch and how would the country deal with issues of religion? Charles II had been educated by Hobbes in France during the Civil War and took his teachings back to England. Charles established the CABAL to help him rule but like his father, he also had financial problems. desperate for money he signed a secret treaty with Louis XIV in 1670. The Treaty of Dover stated that Louis XIV would give Charles money under the terms that Charles would eventually re-catholicize England, relax laws against Catholics, and help France against the Dutch. In 1672 Charles issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence which allowed him to suspend all penal laws against Catholics. He also joined in the Third Anglo-Dutch War in support of Louis XIV. When parliament protested, Charles withdrew the Indulgence and agreed to the Test Acts. The Test Acts, of 1673, said that anyone who refused to receive the Eucharist of the Church of England could not be a public official. On his deathbed in 1685, Charles was received into the Roman Catholic Church.
The Catholic James II, who was brother of Charles II, succeeded to the throne. This is ironically the same year that King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes. Almost immediately James started to violate the Test Act of 1673 when he granted religious freedom to all and then granted high positions to Catholics. Because of people’s suspicions of James religious beliefs, they feared that the country would be re-catholicized. Their nightmares came even closer when James’ second wife gave birth to a male heir who might follow in his father’s footsteps and eventually re-catholicize England. Parliament would not let the country revert to Catholicism so in 1688, Parliament declared the throne vacant in what was known as the Glorious Revolution. They then offered the throne to William and Mary of Orange. In December 1688 James, his wife, and their baby son fled to France, where they became pensioners of Louis XIV. In early 1689, William and Mary were crowned. Mary was the Protestant daughter of James II so William and Mary became Protestant monarchs. This is known as the Glorious Revolution because there was no blood in the passing of the throne from one king to another. William and Mary recognized the supremacy of the Parliament and they ruled with the consent of the governed. The founders of the revolution established the Bill of Rights to show their intentions in government. The Bill of Rights checked the power of absolutist rulers and listed the rights of the people. One of the biggest supporters of the Glorious Revolution and constitutionalism was John Locke. Locke wrote the The Second Treatise of Civil Government in which he maintained that people set up civil governments to protect life, liberty, and property. Locke stated that if a government over stepped its proper function, which was protecting the natural rights of life, liberty, and property, it becomes a tyranny. The Glorious Revolution did not constitute a democratic revolution but placed sovereignty in Parliament and establish a constitutional monarchy. This led to an age of aristocracy.
Analyze the development of the English political system between 1603 and 1702.
In the seventeenth century, a form of government known as Constitutionalism rose in England and in the Netherlands. Constitutionalism is the limitation of government by law and implies a balance between the authority and power of the government and insures the rights and liberties of the subjects. Finally, a nation’s constitution may be written or unwritten and constitutional governments may either be republican or monarchial. In a constitutional republic, power resides in the electorate and the electorate’s representatives. In a constitutional monarchy, a king or queen serves as the head of state but ultimate power rests with the electorate. Constitutional reform of government began as early as 1215 when King John of England signed the Magna Carta, which established the rights of the people and limited the power of the king.
In the seventeenth century, Absolutism was a strong force in Europe, and in 1603 the absolutist Stuarts came to power in England with the coronation of James I. By 1603 England had grown tired of Queen Elizabeth and they were ready for her successor, James I, who would also be James VI of Scotland. James was young and appeared dynamic. Plus he already had experience as the king of Scotland. The English people waited with a sense of expectation. However it soon became apparent that James was a firm believer of the divine right of kings, that a monarch has a God-given right to his authority and is responsible only to God. He expressed his opinions on the divine right in his book The True Law of Free Monarchies, which he presented to Parliament. Initially Parliament tolerated the new king and granted his financial wishes. It soon became obvious that James squandering the money on his friends. Gradually Parliament became more and more reluctant to give the king money.
James, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, also appeared to be sympathetic towards Catholics, another factor that worked against him in England. In 1625, James died and was succeeded by his son Charles I.
In addition to supporting the divine right of kings, Charles gave the impression of being even more sympathetic toward Roman Catholics and the people feared that the country would be changed back to Catholic. He appointed Archbishop Laud to be Archbishop of Canterbury and then supported his anti-Puritan policies. Against the wishes of Parliament, Charles married Henrietta Maria, who was the sister of the Catholic king of France, Louis III. In 1628, as a result of Charles trying to get forced loans from the nobles, Parliament passed their first real document defining the power of the monarchy, known as the Petition of Rights. The document stated that the monarch could not collect taxes, imprison people without cause, declare martial law, or house soldiers in citizens' houses, and became the first step towards constitutionalism. Only one year later in 1629, Charles dissolved Parliament and began is short and unsuccessful reign without parliament. In 1640 war with Scotland broke out and Charles, needing money to form an army, recalled Parliament. However, because of the impasse between the king and the government, Charles dissolved Parliament one month after it opened. This was known as the "Short Parliament". The war with the Scots went badly and Charles was forced to reconvene Parliament. This time it would sit for eleven years and be known as the "Long Parliament". In 1641, under the leadership of John Pym Parliament passed the Triennial Act, which required the King to call Parliament to order every three years.
In 1642, the struggle for power errupted into the English Civil Wars began. Th question was whether sovereignty was to reside in the King or in Parliament. The supporters of the Crown, known as the Cavaliers, fought against the Roundheads, or the supporters of Parliament. Cromwell, who fought to establish a Puritan Absolute government, led the Roundheads who defeated the King’s army. The political theorist Thomas Hobbes, in his novel Leviathan, advocated that sovereignty is ultimately derived from the people, who transfer it to the monarchy by implicit contact. Gradually the Royalists lost ground and in 1649 Charles was beheaded for treason. This not only ended the English Civil War but also the divine-right rule of the monarchy. After Charles’ execution, a puritan commonwealth, or republican government was established by Oliver Cromwell. Power rested with surviving members of Parliament and the head of the army, who was Cromwell at the time. At the death of Cromwell in 1658, the country was ready for the monarchy to return and so in 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne and both houses of Parliament were restored.
Even though the war was over the fundamental questions that caused the war still had not been addressed: what was the power of the monarch and how would the country deal with issues of religion? Charles II had been educated by Hobbes in France during the Civil War and took his teachings back to England. Charles established the CABAL to help him rule but like his father, he also had financial problems. desperate for money he signed a secret treaty with Louis XIV in 1670. The Treaty of Dover stated that Louis XIV would give Charles money under the terms that Charles would eventually re-catholicize England, relax laws against Catholics, and help France against the Dutch. In 1672 Charles issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence which allowed him to suspend all penal laws against Catholics. He also joined in the Third Anglo-Dutch War in support of Louis XIV. When parliament protested, Charles withdrew the Indulgence and agreed to the Test Acts. The Test Acts, of 1673, said that anyone who refused to receive the Eucharist of the Church of England could not be a public official. On his deathbed in 1685, Charles was received into the Roman Catholic Church.
The Catholic James II, who was brother of Charles II, succeeded to the throne. This is ironically the same year that King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes. Almost immediately James started to violate the Test Act of 1673 when he granted religious freedom to all and then granted high positions to Catholics. Because of people’s suspicions of James religious beliefs, they feared that the country would be re-catholicized. Their nightmares came even closer when James’ second wife gave birth to a male heir who might follow in his father’s footsteps and eventually re-catholicize England. Parliament would not let the country revert to Catholicism so in 1688, Parliament declared the throne vacant in what was known as the Glorious Revolution. They then offered the throne to William and Mary of Orange. In December 1688 James, his wife, and their baby son fled to France, where they became pensioners of Louis XIV. In early 1689, William and Mary were crowned. Mary was the Protestant daughter of James II so William and Mary became Protestant monarchs. This is known as the Glorious Revolution because there was no blood in the passing of the throne from one king to another. William and Mary recognized the supremacy of the Parliament and they ruled with the consent of the governed. The founders of the revolution established the Bill of Rights to show their intentions in government. The Bill of Rights checked the power of absolutist rulers and listed the rights of the people. One of the biggest supporters of the Glorious Revolution and constitutionalism was John Locke. Locke wrote the The Second Treatise of Civil Government in which he maintained that people set up civil governments to protect life, liberty, and property. Locke stated that if a government over stepped its proper function, which was protecting the natural rights of life, liberty, and property, it becomes a tyranny. The Glorious Revolution did not constitute a democratic revolution but placed sovereignty in Parliament and establish a constitutional monarchy. This led to an age of aristocracy.
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